On Albanian soil

Italy’s Senate approves migrant centers

The Italian Senate ratified a migration agreement with Albania on Thursday. According to the agreement, two centers for migrants who set foot on EU territory for the first time in Italy are to be built on Albanian soil.

The facilities are to accommodate up to 3,000 people at a time. Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that only those migrants who had been rescued from the Mediterranean by Italian authorities would be brought to the centers. This means that people who have been rescued by NGO rescue ships or have set foot on Italian soil by other means are excluded from onward transportation.

The two camps in Albania are to be under Italian jurisdiction and operated by Italian personnel. In one, people are to be checked on arrival, while in the other they will live for the duration of the processing of their asylum applications (see video above).

Approval from Albania still missing
The Albanian parliament has not yet given its approval. However, the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama, whose government concluded the agreement, has a majority. The Constitutional Court in Tirana had already given the green light at the end of January.